Princess Cruises will homeport a ship in Port Canaveral for the first time, with the Caribbean Princess deploying to the Central Florida port in late 2024 for the winter season.

The 3,140-passenger ship will sail eastern and western Caribbean cruises from the port starting Nov. 27, 2024, moving from its current winter homeport down the coast in Port Everglades. 

“The combination of a vibrant Central Florida community, exceptional flight options into Orlando International Airport and great pre-cruise and post-cruise experience options makes Port Canaveral an easy choice,” Princess president John Padgett said in a statement. It also plays into Princess’ strategy to offer more North American homeports from major drive markets. 

The move adds to Port Canaveral’s standing as the world’s busiest cruise port. Earlier this year, Port Canaveral said that it overtook Miami as the busiest port in 2022. 

The Caribbean Princess is the latest in a group of ships, including Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas and the MSC Seascape, to make Florida’s Space Coast their home.

“The fleet of ships homeported at Port Canaveral continues to grow with next year’s arrival of Caribbean Princess,” said Capt. John Murray, CEO of Port Canaveral. 

The Caribbean Princess will offer 8- and 6-day departures that can be combined for 14-day sailings. A one-off, four-day Turks & Caicos Getaway will sail over Thanksgiving.

Itineraries include five 8-day Eastern Caribbean cruises to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, San Juan and Grand Turk; five 8-day departures to the Western Caribbean sailing to Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize City and Roatan; and nine 6-day Eastern Caribbean sailings to Turks & Caicos, Nassau, Grand Turk and either Amber Cove or San Juan. 

Sailings will open for booking on May 24.

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